RED-TAGGING | Youth solon mulls filing charges vs fake news peddlers, red-taggers on social media

November 25, 2020 , 03:15 PM

(November 25, 2020) – A left-wing member of lower house of Congress planned to file charges against government offices for linking her to the Maoist-led guerrilla forces, which she branded as false information on social media.

Sarah Elago of the Kabataan party-list protested the labels made by security forces, saying it has no sufficient basis.

Elago also denied she was recruiter for the Communist movement and a member of the New People’s Army (NPA) rebels.

In an interview with Sa Totoo Lang on Tuesday night, she expressed deep concerns over the continued proliferation of such dangerous accusations on social media, which make her susceptible to death threats and rape threats.

“That is so unfair, unjust at grabe yung diskriminasyon sa parte ko na ganito yung nararanasan ng party-list ng kabataan sa loob ng Kongreso,” said Elago.

She will soon file charges in court together with other representatives of the Makabayan bloc.

Elago and other members of the Makabayan bloc in Congress attended a Senate hearing on red-tagging on Tuesday to respond to claims thrown by military informants against them.

Elago reminded the police and the military of the dangers posed by red-tagging and red-baiting, which has happened a number of times prior to the death and disappearance of a number of activists and human rights defenders.

One instance that illustrates this point is the killing of Zara Alvarez, a Negros-based human rights activist who was gunned down in August.

She asked the court for protective writs as she had feared for her life due to various forms of threats she had received, but she was unable to get the protection she needed.

“Far from being harmless statements, red-tagging puts people’s lives, liberties, and security on the line when they brand human rights defenders, activists, dissenters, and critics of the government’s murderous and anti-people policies as ‘enemies of the State’,” said Karapatan Secretary-General Cristina Palabay who also spoke at the hearing.

Someone must ultimately be held accountable for all that is happening, according to Bayan Muna Representative Carlos Zarate.

“Instead of understanding us and respecting our role as citizens and members of Congress, we have become subjects of trumped-up charges and intense red-tagging and terror-tagging,” Zarate said.

The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) has been relentless in their campaign against the Makabayan bloc and other progressive groups, baselessly calling them recruiters of the NPA.

A high-ranking officer of the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA), Alex Paul Monteagudo, also shared unverified posts on social media containing Elago’s pictures stating the same allegations as that of the NTF-ELCAC.

The NICA Director-General maintained, however, that red-tagging is not a policy of the state.

“Think before you click. Consider the source before sharing content. Nakakahiya po kung galing sa NICA at Secretariat ng Anti-Terrorism Council tapos hindi man lang marunong mag fact-check,” Elago said during the hearing.

“Nandito ako dahil hindi natin pahihintulutan na walang nananagot sa mga paninira na ginagawa sa ating mga kabataan. Nandito ako hindi lang para sumagot, kundi maningil ng pananagutan sa lahat ng pangdudusta na ginawa sa akin.”

Given the advent of disinformation on social media, both the government and social media companies like Facebook should take action to protect the people. But amid all these, the youth should continue standing their ground and speak out against all injustices present in society.

“Ang payo ko po sa kabataan, wag tayong mawalan ng pag-asa. Maraming namumulat pero di maitatanggi na maraming kabataan ang nadidiscourage dahil nakikita nilang pag nagsalita ka, pagbibintangan ka na ganito, aakusahan ka na ganyan.” Elago told Sa Totoo Lang.

“Dapat i-ensure na mayroon silang safe and protected spaces for participation … Yung issues at concerns ay dapat pagtulungan para ito ay maaksyunan.”

(Beatrice Puente/MM)

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